Time controlled switch for radio receiving sets



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XJIO TIME SE |I 23 TIME SET A. OBODZINSKI Filed Nav. 8, 1937 TIIIE CONTROLLED SWITCH FOR RADIO RECEIVING SETS LIA/5 July 2, 1940.

Patented July 2, '1940 TIME CONTROLLED SWITCH FOR RADIO RECEIVING SETS Anton Obodzinski, Chicago, Ill., assignor of onehalf to Albert Borst, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 8, 1937, Serial No. 173,417

1 Claim. (Cl. 161-1) This invention relates to a novel and improved construction of a time controlled switch, and more particularly to a switch of the character adapted for association with a radio receiving 5 set, whereby it will be effective to turn on" a radio receiving set at a predetermined time and thereafter turn off" the said receiving set at another predetermined time.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a time controlled switch of the character described, by utilizing a spring wound clock of conventional construction, the parts forming my improved time controlled switch being of simple construction and being capable of ready 15 assembly with a spring wound clock of conventional construction without necessitating the modification or alteration of the clock structure,

thereby producing a device of this character which will be simple in construction and assem- 13131 as well as operation, and which will at the same time be economicalso that the same may be produced at a low cost, thus making it highly useful for association with radio receiving sets of the smaller type such as the small table sets now 25 in popular use.

- Another object of my invention is the provision of a novel and improved time controlled switch adapted for association with a radio receiving set, said switch comprising only a few parts which may be readily assembled with a spring wound clock of conventional construction, and, when so assembled, will be highly eflicient for carrying-out the purposes for which his designed, and because of the small number of parts 3 used in constructing the improved switch, the same will be durable in operation and will not readily get out of operative condition.

A still further object of this inventionis the provision of an improved switch structure for a radio receiving set which is capable of operation either'manually or automatically by a time controlled switch.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, 45 the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter more fully descnibed, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it 50 beingunderstood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or. sacrificing any of the advantages ni -the invention.

55 For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of my invention, I have illustrated in the accompanying drawing a preferred embodiment thereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection with the following description, my invention, its mode of construction, as- 5 sembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readily understood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawing in which the same characters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout the several figures of the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a general diagrammatic view of a radio receiving set having my improved time controlled switch associated therewith: 16

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of a timeclock having my improved time controlled switch assembled therewith, part of said clock being broken away to more clearly illustrate the interior construction thereof; 20

Fig. 3 is a rear elevational view of the time clock;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through a switch box 5 associated with the radio receiving set for controlling the supply of current thereto;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the same taken substantially on line 6--6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. '7 is a front elevational View of said switch box construction.

Referring to the drawing more specifically by characters of reference, the numeral l0 designates generally a spring wound clock of conventional construction. To this clock mechanism is 5 added the gear ll mounted upon a shaft l2, said gear being arranged in mesh with the pinion l3 driven by the clock mechanism, whereby said gear II will make one complete revolution every 12 hours. Secured to the gear II for rotation 40 therewith is a current conducting, annular ring member l4 provided with a peripheral groove IS on the outer edge and being suitably insulated from the shaft I2 as well as the gear II. In the embodiment illustrated, a plate of insulation material I6 is mounted on the shaft l2 and is disposed against one face of the gear II. Secured to said plate I6 is a plate 11, also of insulation material, and upon which the conducting ring I4 is securely mounted. The overall diameter of said plate [-1 and ring I4 is substantially the same as that of the insulation plate IS. A second plate of insulation material designated by the reference character I8 is secured to the gear ll, plates l6 and I1, and all these parts are secured to each other by means of the rivets or studs I9, said studs being countersunk as shown more clearly at 20 in the plate IS.

The annular ring member I 4 is provided with a raised portion 2| which portion extends above the outer surface of the insulation plate l6, said portion 2| having its side edges beveled as shown at 22 for a purpose to be presently more fully described.

Mounted on the shaft l2 for rotation therewith, but completely'lnsulated therefrom, is a metal conducting plate 23, the diameter of which is such as to render it free from contact with the raised portion 2| of the conducting ring I4. The plate 23 is secured in any suitable or well-known manner, such as by the studs 24, to aring of insulation material 25, the bottom face of which is of reduced diameter and is received in a recess provided therefor in the insulation plate I8. The member 25 may have a pin 26 extending therethrough and through the body of the shaft l2 for locking said member and the associated conducting plate 23 to the shaft l2, whereby actuation of said shaft will impart corresponding movement to said conducting plate 23. The plate 23 is provided with a radial extension 21 which is adapted to engage the projection 2| of the conducting ring l4 when the two are brought in position opposite'each other. From the above it will be noted that the conducting ring l4 will be driven by the clock mechanism by reason of engagement of the gear H with the pinion |3, whereas the conducting plate 23 will remain stationary but may be moved by actuating the shaft l2, whereby the same may be set for engagement by the projection 2| at a predetermined time. The shaft I2 is extended through the rear plate of the clock l and has mounted thereon a pointer 26 which may coopcrate with a dial 29 provided on the rear plate of the clock for facilitating the setting of the fixed contact 21.

The radio receiving set, which may be generally designated by the letter R, receives a supply of current from a 110-vo1t power source. The conductors 30 and 3| lead from said source to said set. Leads 32 and 33 are connected to the conductors 30 and 3|, said leads being connected to a double switch generally designated by the letter S which is so constructed as to be capable of being operated either by the time controlled switch 2|-2'I or manually in a manner to be now more fully described. The said switch S is arranged within the radio receiving set so as to control the supply of current to the set.

Mounted in the power line 30--3| is a suitable transformer 35 for stepping down the voltage to approximately 6 volts before the said current is permitted to pass through the switch 2|-2| so as to prevent any injury to said switch at the point of contact. The line 36 leads from said transformer 35 to a terminal 36' secured to a plate 50 of suitable insulation material, which plate is in turn secured to a portion of the frame 9 of the clock mechanism. The insulation plate 50 has a second terminal 39' secured thereto, to which is connected one end of a conductor 39, the other end of which is connected to a relay 48. The other end of said relay is connected by means of the conductor 4| to the other end of the transformer 35. A suitable wire 42 has one end connected to the terminal 36' and the other end is permitted to rest and ride upon the conducting plate 23 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the wire 42 being of resilient material and maintaining a constant contact with said conducting plate 23. Similarly a resilient wire 43 has one end connected to the terminal 39' and the other end disposed as shown at 44 within the annular groove l of the conducting ring I 4. The resiliency of the wire 43 is such as to cause said wire to come into intimate contact with said groove and to remain in such contact at all times.

The switch S, which controls the supply of current to the radio receiving set, may comprise a switch box 5| formed of suitable insulation material provided at its top with a closure 52. A central partition wall 53 divides the said switch box into two compartments, within one of which is mounted the pivoted arm 54 and within the other of which is mounted the arm 55. Both of said arms are pivoted at their inner ends on the transversely disposed rods 56. A spring member 51 is connected to the rearmost'ends of said rods for normally urging said rods to the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawing, which position is the off" position of the radio receiving set. Mounted in the partition, wall 53 of said switch box are a pair of contacts 58 and 59, the former being connected to the conductor 32 and the latter being connected to the conductor 33, whereby, when said contacts 58 and 59 are bridged by a suitable conducting member, the circuit to the radio receiving set will be closed. To accomplish this, the arm 54 has mounted thereon, intermediate its ends, a contact 60 which is of such a size as to break the connection between the contacts 58 and 59 when the arm 54 is in a raised position and to bridge or span the distance between said contacts 58 and 59 when the arm 54 is moved to its lowered position. In order to hold said arm 54 in its lowered position I provide a spring catch 5| which will be effective for holding said arm in said lowered position when the same is moved to such position.

A contact plate 62 is provided on the arm 55 which is adapted for spanning the distance between the contacts 58 and 59 when the arm 55 is moved to its lowered position in order to complete the circuit to the radio set. The actuation of the arm 55 is accomplished through the energizing of the relay 40 which will then attract the arm 55 and hold the same in circuit-closing position so long as the relay 40 remains energized. As soon as the relay 40 is de-energized the spring 51 will be effective for moving the arm 55 to the position shown in Fig. 5, in which position the circuit to the receiving set will be broken.

The clock-controlled switch 2|2'|, it will be noted, controls the relay 40 and in this manner controls the operation of the radio receiving set.

The operation of the device should be readily understood from the description hereinabove given, and it should be apparent that the simple time controlled switch 2|2'| may be set so as to turn the radio set on at some future predetermined time and after remaining on for a given period of time, which time will depend upon the time it will take for the projection 2| to ride past the extension 2! provided on the fixed conducting plate 23, will be turned "oif.

desired. It will be noted that while the time controlled switch may be set for turning on the radio at some'future predetermined time, the set may be operated by the manually controlled arm 54 without in any way disturbing the setting of the time controlled switch. Thus it will be apparent that the set may be operated either manually in the usual and conventional manner, or the same may be controlled by the time switch 21-21, in which case the set will operate only for that predetermined period of time for which it may be set by the operator.

From the above it will be noted that I have provided a simple and highly efiicient time controlled switch which utilizes the conventional construction of the spring wound clock set switch, comprising only a few parts which will not readily get out of order and which may be assembled with said clock with a minimum of time and practically unskilled labor, with the result that the device may be produced at a low cost'and thereby make the same available for use with the radio sets of the lowest price field.

It is believed that my invention, its mode of construction and assembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood from the foregoing without further description, and it should also be manifest that while a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural details are nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of my invention as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

In combination with a radio receiving set of a switch for controlling the supply of current thereto, manual means for actuating said switch and time-controlled means for actuating the same switch, said last-mentioned means including a clock-driven contact and a second contact arranged for engagement by said clock-driven contact at a predetermined time and for a predetermined period of time after which said contacts are automatically disengaged, a relay controlled by said contacts, said relay being effective when energized to move said first-mentioned switch to circuit-closing position, and means associated with said switch for moving the same to circuit-open position when the relay is deenergized.

ANTON OBODZINSKI. 

